New state rule requires vaccinations for seventh-graders

Seventh-graders may need a new round of shots before heading back to school.

A new state rule requires students entering seventh grade to show they've received the T-dap vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) as well as a bacterial meningitis vaccine. Students in eighth through 12th grades must show proof of vaccination at their school's request.

The new requirements were proposed by the Minnesota Department of Health and approved by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2013 to bring the state into line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and other public health groups, said Lynn Bahta, immunization clinical consultant for the health department.

Minnesota saw an influx of whooping cough that peaked in 2012 with 4,639 cases reported, state health records show. This year, 562 incidents have been reported, about half of those in the Twin Cities metro.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious lung infection. Symptoms include runny nose, fever and prolonged coughing that ends in a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air. It is rarely fatal.

Outbreaks of the infection tend to occur in three- to five-year cycles due, in part, to the vaccine only being effective for a short time. The periodic declines in immunity can contribute to peak outbreaks.

Bahta said the new requirement to vaccinate middle-school students should "mitigate our peaks" but won't prevent them. "We have the vaccine itself to blame for that," she said.

Minnesota also has seen isolated bacterial meningitis outbreaks, especially among teenagers and young adults living in dormitories, Bahta said.

An immunization for the cancer-causing human papillomavirus, or HPV, also is recommended for students beginning at age 11.

Parents who do not want their child vaccinated must provide schools with notarized medical or philosophical exemption forms.

County public health departments in the metro are holding clinics to give vaccines to students who need them. The vaccines are provided by the federal government, and the state health department offered $15,000 in grants to help counties pay for the clinics.